Fresh Venezuela strike arrests

news.bbc.co.uk Last Updated:  Thursday, 27 February, 2003, 03:42 GMT
By Adam Easton BBC correspondent in Caracas

Protesters are supporting those detained

A judge in Venezuela has ordered that seven former managers of the state-owned oil company be arrested for their role in the country's two-month strike.

The order follows the arrest last week of Carlos Fernandez, one of the strike's two main organisers.

He is now facing charges of rebellion.

Opposition leaders have accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of leading a witch hunt against the country's opposition.

Thousands fired

The seven former Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) managers are all members of the opposition civil group Petroleum People, which was the public face of the oil strike.

They were among 12,000 already fired for taking part in the strike, which virtually brought Venezuela's oil industry to a standstill.

The oil strike cost the country $4bn in lost exports alone, and Venezuela's wells are still only producing between a half and two-thirds of normal production.

President Chavez has called the strikers saboteurs who deserve to be behind bars.

House arrest

The arrest warrants will fuel accusations that Mr Chavez is taking revenge on the strike's leaders.

One of the strike's two main organisers, business leader Carlos Fernandez, is already under house arrest on rebellion charges.

Mr Fernandez heads the Fedecamaras chamber of commerce.

The other organiser - trade union leader Carlos Ortega - is in hiding after an arrest warrant was issued last week.

A source close to the former oil managers told the BBC they were in a safe house awaiting instructions from their lawyers.

It is still not clear what charges they are facing.

Earlier, several thousand people marched in the capital, Caracas, in support of the strike's leaders. Some held placards accusing Mr Chavez of being a dictator.